{"id":4331,"date":"2016-02-22T11:02:34","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T17:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/?p=4331"},"modified":"2019-10-14T09:20:53","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T14:20:53","slug":"bradley-family-creates-business-loan-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/2016\/02\/22\/bradley-family-creates-business-loan-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Bradley family creates business loan program"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/a> Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president; Steve Craig, benefactor of the Craig School of Business; and David and Suzanne Bradley talk during the 2013 dedication of the Walter Cronkite Memorial. The Bradley family has pledged $300,000 to create a loan program that will help MWSU students and alumni start or acquire a business. \n

A St. Joseph family has established a fund to help Missouri Western State University students and alumni acquire financing to start or acquire a business. The Bradley family, owners of the News-Press & Gazette Company, has pledged $300,000 to create the Bradley Entrepreneurship Loan Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to help new and existing businesses grow and prosper in the community,\u201d said David Bradley, NPG Co. chairman and CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bradley family has long supported Missouri Western, and we are very appreciative of this latest example of their generosity,\u201d said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western\u2019s president. \u201cThe Bradley Entrepreneurship Loan Program will provide very meaningful assistance to our students and alumni who are interested in owning their own business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loan program will provide up to $100,000 to guarantee loans from banks or other lenders. It will be administered by the Center for Entrepreneurship within the Craig School of Business at Missouri Western.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bradley Entrepreneurship Loan Program fits very well with the Center\u2019s mission to train, mentor and support business owners and entrepreneurs in the St. Joseph area,\u201d said Dr. Mike Lane, dean of the Craig School of Business. \u201cFinancing can be one of the biggest challenges for those starting out as a business owner, and this program will help us address that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applicants will be required to develop and submit a comprehensive business plan to the Center for Entrepreneurship. A committee made up of Dr. Lane and representatives from the CSB Advisory Council and the MWSU Foundation Board will review the application. If approved, the Craig School of Business will work with the entrepreneur to identify an appropriate lender to participate in the program. The Missouri Western State University Foundation will then provide the bank with a certificate of deposit as collateral for the loan.<\/p>\n

Preference will be given to businesses in Buchanan County. The program can help establish a new business or it can assist businesses transitioning from family ownership to new ownership.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our goals this year is to help family-owned businesses begin succession planning early enough to bring prospective owners into the business a few years prior to their anticipated retirement,\u201d said Annette Weeks, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. \u201cThrough that process, we can identify good prospects from among our students and alumni for the loan program, especially from those who have gone through our Applied Entrepreneurship program.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on the loan program or to begin the application process, contact Weeks at 816-271-4283 or aweeks@missouriwestern.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Center for Entrepreneurship: <\/em><\/strong>The Center for Entrepreneurship within the Craig School of Business trains, mentors and supports business owners and entrepreneurs in the St. Joseph area and beyond, providing one-on-one business coaching as well as connecting clients to helpful programs and resources. All services are provided free of charge.<\/em><\/p>\n

About Missouri Western: <\/em><\/strong>Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit <\/em>www.missouriwestern.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A St. Joseph family has established a fund to help Missouri Western State University students and alumni acquire financing to start or acquire a business. The Bradley family, owners of the News-Press & Gazette Company, has pledged $300,000 to create the Bradley Entrepreneurship Loan Program. \u201cWe are proud to help new and existing businesses grow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,78,48],"tags":[206,262,346,565],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8151,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331\/revisions\/8151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}